Accountant Ledger and Champagne
by ElphieAtHeart
Summary: Why not just get an accountant's ledger and a bottle of Champagne and go at it! What if Mark took Maureen's advice seriously? My first RENT fic, so please read! I Don't own Mark Cohen or Joanne Jefferson, no matter how much I really want to.


-1_Summary: "Why not just get an accountant's ledger and a bottle of champagne and go at it!" What if Mark took Maureen's advice seriously. _

**Accountant Ledger and Champagne**

Mark Cohen slowly opened the sliding door to the decrepit drafty loft he had lived in since his eighteenth birthday. He peeked around the door as it opened, his crystal blue eyes quickly scanning the room for his target. A sly smile spread across his mouth as he spotted his prey. There, sitting cross-legged on the old wooden bench set up against the window ledge, was a young black woman. Her full attention was focused on a small, brown leather book lying open on said bench. It was an accountant's ledger. Mark's grin grew.

He quietly slipped into the loft and let the door roll shut behind him with a soft click. He stood perfectly still in the chilled October air and let his gaze wonder over the young beauty's silhouette. He was amazed at how perfectly the light seemed to bend around her, encircling her in a loving embrace and how delicately it shone across her short black hair, creating a golden halo that settled around the crown of her head. Mark watched as her deep brown eyes stayed put on the book in front of her crossed legs. He had never in his life seen such a scene and was torn between hurrying to pull his camera out of his bag and capture this moment forever on film and not moving a muscle for fear of breaking this masterpiece moment in time. Mark wondered how something so perfect could have ever become a part of his life.

After a few minutes of admiration, Mark began to walk toward her in a monotonously slow pace curious as to whether she was oblivious to his presents, so focused on her reading, or whether she was simply choosing to ignore him. He gently removed his shoulder bag off of his arm and onto the metal table stationed in the loft in a sad attempt to separate a kitchen like area from the rest of the "living room". He reached into the bag and brought out the bottle he had just spent the last hour hunting for and buying, setting it beside his bag with a soft thud. He continued his stalking towards his girlfriend. Her attention never wavered from her work. He stood directly beside her. She read on. He swung on leg over the bench and sat directly behind her. She turned the page. He wound both arms around her slim waist, pressing her back against his chest. She bit her lip in concentration. He leaned his chin on her shoulder and pretended to read the many budget statements along with her. For a moment, silence filled the loft.

A smile slowly broke across the young woman's face, "Hey, Mark."

He let a goofy smile claim his mouth at the sound of her voice. "Hey Joanne," he replied and nuzzled her neck with his nose, trailing kisses down her shoulder and inhaling her jasmine scented lotion. He felt her shiver in his arms and knew she was trying not to laugh. He also knew she was most ticklish right along her neck, just under her jaw line. His sly Cheshire cat smile returned as he peppered tiny kisses along that special spot, just barley brushing the tip of his tongue along her skin.

"Mark, please!" she said in a mock serious tone, nudging his head away with her own.

"What?" he asked innocently, immediately shifting to her other shoulder and attacking that side of her neck with hot kisses.

"I have to finish!" she sounded both exasperated and giddy as he made his way up her neck and over her jaw line.

"Finish later," he replied with a half shrug.

"You know these budgets have to be approved by next week, Mark!"

"Well, then," he spoke into her ear with a low, husky voice "it's a good thing today's Monday." He mentally cheered in victory as he felt her shutter in his embrace. He knew his Joanne. He knew just how to get to her. He knew how close she was to giving in. Mark placed on last lingering kiss just beneath her ear.

She snapped. Slamming the worn book at her knees shut, Joanne whipped around in her seat and pounced. Mark felt his head clunk against the wooden bench as Joanne roughly pushed him onto his back, hovering over him. She looked down into his eyes and smiled seductively. "Now you're in for it."

Mark took a split second to congratulate himself once more on his brilliant mind before Joanne brought her lips crashing down on his in a searing kiss. He marveled at how the soul movement of her lips against his was able to sent electricity coursing though his veins. He rubbed small circles into her lower back with one hand, bringing the other up to weave through her black hair. Joanne began to pull back.

"No, don't go," Mark half whined, half whispered, using the hand tangled in her black mass of hair to pull her back to his level. She grinned into the kiss and pulled away once more.

"I just… thought… we could… find a more… comfortable … spot," she explained, her sentence paused every other word to kiss his mouth.

He pulled his mouth away and looked her in the face with a confused expression. "You're a lawyer. You of all people should know how to multitask," he stated. As she opened her mouth to speak, Mark took advantage of this window of opportunity to resume their previous action. To answer her unasked question, Mark scooped her delicate frame up in his arms, hearing her let out a tiny shout of surprise as she was lifted into the air before her laughter filled the room.

"Shhhh," Mark scolded, trying desperately to not laugh out loud with her. "We don't want Roger and Mimi in here," he continued, plunking her down on the old duct-taped leather couch.

"Are you kidding?" she made a slight face of disgust as she spoke, gently pulling the her Jewish boy down to her, "With the way they were going at it earlier, they won't be out here for a while," she shuddered, "Just be happy you weren't here to hear them."

"Whoa, ok!" He jerked away, "I really didn't need to hear that!" He watched as Joanne laughed at his horrified face. He felt a smile tug at his lips as he let her laughter roll over him, loving the way her voice filled his ears.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, eyes shining, and leaned forward until only a sliver of air parted their lips, "Shut up and kiss me," she murmured against his lips.

"Gladly," he responded, closing any space between them and resumed kissing her. Slowly, he gently laid her back against the couch, letting his weight rest against her, supporting himself up on his elbows. He slowly probed her mouth open with his tongue, tasting the minty flavor of the Tic-Tacs she was forever chewing on to suppress her nerves at work. He felt Joanne's smoothly run her hands upward along the fabric of his sweatshirt before her arms slid over his shoulders and around his neck. For a brief moment, Mark remembered that he had come in with a specific purpose, but at that instant, he felt her pink tongue brush against his and his thought process short circuited.

Quite a few minutes later, Mark was able to once again attempt to form a thought, though her teeth grazing against his ear was a tad distracting. Finally, it hit him.

With a reluctant groan, Mark pulled away. A sound of disapproval issued from the woman below him and he felt her arms tighten around him.

"Hey," he said with a laugh, "hold on, I brought something for you." Joanne immediately pulled back, an almost childlike grin on her face.

"What is it?"

"You'll see," he reluctantly detangled himself from his lover and pulled himself up off the couch. He felt her beautiful brown eyes follow him as he made his way over to the dented, metal table where he had placed the bottle he had purchased for her earlier. Swiftly grabbing it off the metallic surface, he turned back around and pulled his arm behind him, keeping the bought present hidden from her view. She continued to look puzzled as he took his seat on the couch once more.

"Happy Anniversary," he spoke as he pulled out the bottle of champagne from behind his back. Her face lit up with glee as she threw her arms around him, almost knocking the bottle from his hands.

"You remembered!" she all but shrieked, planting a firm, wet kiss to his jaw line.

"What?" he asked in a mock indignant voice, "Did you think I would have forgotten?"

For a brief moment the light of joy flickered out in Joanne's eyes. She continued to smile, but it seemed forced, "I'm just use to having to remind-" Her voice cut off. Mark felt a ping of anger in his gut. As much as he loved the brunette drama queen, and would always feel the need to protect her as a brother, Maureen would simply never know the kind of state people walked out with when coming out of a relationship with her. Maureen had a fiery passion about everything in life, but Mark new better from experience. Fire, no matter how beautiful, burns. And both he and the beautiful woman beside her had been burned.

Mark once more wrapped his arms around the dark skinned women beside him and whispered softly in her ear, "How could I not remember the day I fell in love with the most perfect women in this world?" He couldn't stop the sly grin that pushed through at feeling her shiver once at his actions. He felt her slip the bottle from out of his grip at watched as she delicately peeled of the gold foil that covered the top of the bottle, letting it drop to the floor. She the proceeded to pull the wooden stopper out from the opening before tipping it up to her mouth, letting the liquid pour past her lips. Mark watched as she did this, feeling an unusual envy for the round glass pressed up against her lips and tongue.

She lowered the bottle and smiled sweetly up at him, "Thank you, this is sweet of you," She leaned towards him and placed a chaste kiss on Mark's lips. He reached a hand behind her neck so as to deepen the kiss, feeling her own fingers slide through the belt loops of his jeans as she tugged him closer resuming their horizontal position on the couch.

Joanne broke away briefly to look shyly up at the blond Jew and whispered, "I love you, Mark."

Mark felt the same warmth that shone through her eyes whenever she spoke those words. He echoed her in the same quiet tone, "I love you, Joanne."

**A/N: Alright, was that crap or not? I want to know if my spur of the moment ideas are really worth typing, so click that lovely little button down there that says, "Go". If you do, I'll give you a cookie!! Come on, you know you want to…. : D **


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